Range ventilator



April 28, 1964 A. P. FISCHER 3,130,661

RANGE VENTILATOR Filed March 13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l Immun April 28, 1964 A. P. FISCHER RANGE VENTILATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13, 1962 INVENTOR.

llll IIIIIII-v Andrew R Fisc/1er United States Patent O 3,130,661 RANGE VENTILATUR Andrew P. Fischer, 1410 Mount Vernon Drive, Modesto, Calif. Filed Mar. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 179,397 13 Claims. (Cl, 98-115) This invention comprises a novel and useful range ventilator and more particularly relates to a ventilator construction specifically adapted for association with a stove, range or other cooking apparatus, etc., in order to effectively remove smoke and fumes and heated air therefrom.

The present invention relates to a ventilator construction for ranges which is similar to that of the prior patent of Andrew P. Fischer and Aloys A. Fischer, Patent No. 2,888,871, but constituttes improvements thereover.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a ventilator construction for kitchen ranges which shall be capable of ready attachment to and operative association with various types of cooking, broiling or frying equipment for the effective collection and removal of grease laden fumes, heated air and smoke therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ventilator construction for cooking equipment such as ranges which shall be designed for effectively drawing in the heated air from the area adjacent the range and with substantially no dissipation of heat and fumes from the range into the kitchen area.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ventilator construction for cooking equipment such as kitchen ranges which through the provision of means for effectively cooling the hot gases after their passage through the lter area of the range will effectively cool the volatile gases in the area behind the filters Well below the flash point thereby eliminating a major cause of ventilator fires.

Yet another important purpose of the invention is to provide a ventilator construction which shall be capable of being readily dismounted for cleaning in an extremely short period of time without use of tools and shall be as easily reassembled for use.

A further and more specic object of the invention is to provide a ventilator construction for cooking equipment such as kitchen ranges which shall be so compact that it will offer a minimum obstruction to the table or shelf area adjacent the range and ventilator.

Still another purpose of the invention is to provide a range ventilator which shall have incorporated therein an adjustable fiue in order to effectively regulate the quantity of flue gases and cooling air drawn into the ventilator area behind the filters to thereby reduce the temperature of the heated air and gases drawn from the range by the ventilator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved means in a range ventilator for effectively supporting the filter through which the withdrawn air must pass, will further serve as a means to adjustably control the rate of fiow of the cooling air drawn into the flue of the range and will still further provide a removable grease trap for the structure. v

Another object is to provide a ventilator with a means whereby cool air may be drawn through the upper part of the filters to further cool the area behind the filters in order to condense any grease or moisture which may have passed through the filters, this cooling airflow to be self regulating. As the lower portion of the filter becomes clogged with congealing grease, the heated airliow moves upward, thereby reducing the amount of cool air entering at the top of the filter and at the same time increasing the cool airflow through the slot behind the grease trough to compensate for the reduced airflow from above. -The heated air and gases fiowing upward past the congealed rf'lce grease tends to melt it so it drains down into the grease trough. The grease trough is so constructed that if the operator fails to clean it regularly it will overflow at the front edge where the need for cleaning will be immediately evident.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE l is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in which a range ventilator in accordance with this invention is installed with a conventional type of kitchen range, parts being broken away, and a portion of the ventilator hood being shown in an opened position;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view in vertical transverse section showing the flow characteristics of this range ventilator;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken upon an enlarged scale of the ventilator of FIGURE 1 and showing details of the structural features of this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view in vertical section taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4--4`of` FIGURE Bland shows a portion of the grease trap structure of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a further detail view taken upon an enlarged scale of the flue adjusting means of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a further detail view taken upon an enlarged scale showing the hinged connection of the hood of the range.

Reference isnow made specifically first to FIGURES 1-3 wherein the numeral 10 designates generally the improved and novel range ventilator in accordance with this invention which is shown as applied to any conventional type of range indicated generally by the numeral 12. The ventilator is adapted to be disposed to the rear of and to overliefthe top of the range so that as suggested by the arrows indicating iiow lines in FIGURE 2, the heated air,'srnoke and grease arising from the range and also the heated air Within the room will be drawn into and upwardly through the ventilator and be discharged to the ventilator flue for a well understood purpose.

The ventilator construction forming the subject matter of this invention includes a housing consisting of a back wall 14 extending generally vertically and which conveniently may be provided with marginal flanges or channel portions as at 16. These serve as stiffening means for the housing which may thus be of relatively light sheet metal and also serve for engagement by mounting brackets such as those indicated at 1S by which the hood is detachably mounted upon a vertical support surface such as a wall or the like of the kitchen. In addition to the back wall, the ventilator housing includes a pair of vertical end walls 20 together with a top wall 22. The end walls are secured to the side edges of the top and back walls so as to form a rigid structure and there is preferably included further rigidifying means in the form of a downturned flange 24, which serves to retain the upper edge of a filter, at the front edge of the top Wall Z2 and a further transversely extending hollow channel member or beam 26 at the forwardmost portion of the end walls secured thereto by any suitable means such as welding or the like.

inclined top wall 34, a downwardly and rearwardly inclined depending wall 36 from the lower end of which extends a horizontally forwardly projecting wall 38 which in turn at its outer extremity has a downturned flange 4t). The top wall 3S also serves as a plate warming shelf during use of the cooking equipment. The arrangement is such that the hood in lowered operative position as shown in FIGURES l-3 is adapted to have its horizontal wall 38 and its flange 40 supported upon the transverse reinforcing member 26, although the hood may be raised as shown at the left side of FIGURE l in order to obtain better access to the interior of the ventilator for cleaning or inspection purposes.

In some instances the hood may extend across the entire horizontal extent of the ventilator while in other instances, as shown in FIGURE l, the hood may be formed of a number of separately hinged sections so as to permit any one section to be raised independently of the others.

An outlet means indicated generally by the numeral 42 is provided at an upper portion of the housing of the ventilator. Conveniently, as shown in the drawings, this outlet means may be provided in the top wall 22 adjacent its junction with the rear wall 14. Thus, this top wall may have an upwardly extending collar 44 thus defining an opening or port 46 therein, while a sleeve member 48 may surround this collar to provide a portion of the discharge flue by which the heated air and gases are educted from the ventilator to any conventional discharge passage, not shown.

Extending transversely across the ventilator at its lower portion and from end wall to end wall thereof is a vertically disposed support indicated generally by the numeral 50. This support is preferably composed of upper and lower removable sections 52 and 54 respectively, with each of the sections having folded flanges along their edges to provide marginal channels for the purpose of increasing the stiffness and rigidity of the assembly. The lower section 54 is adapted to be conveniently received in a recess or channel 56 formed in the upper or top surface of the range 12 to assist in establishing a sealing engagement between the range and the interior of the hood and a cool air passage S8 which is formed between the rear wall 14 and the support 59 spaced therefrom. As will be observed from the ow arrows in FIGURE 2, cold air from the room enters from behind the range, passes upwardly through the passage 58 and eventually is discharged into the outlet means 42.

Referring again more specically to the structure of the support 50, it will be observed that the upper section 52 thereof is provided with an angularly bent portion 66 forming a grease deflecting or drip ledge 62 which prevents grease from running down the face of panel 54. The bent portion 60 also forms a downwardly opening channel 63 for receiving the top edge of panel or section 54.

Supported by the upper section 52 is a transversely extending support member indicated generally by the numeral 64. This member includes a horizontally extending bottom wall 66, an upwardly and rearwardly inclined rear wall 68 and a forwardly and downwardly inclined upper wall 70 which latter is provided with a recess 72 therein which is downwardly inclined. At its front end the bottom wall 66 of the support member 64 is provided with a horizontally extending upwardly opening channel 74 therein by means of which it is removably and movably supported upon the upper end of the upper section S2. This arrangement is such that a slight rocking movement of the support member 64 on the support section 52 is possible with the support member being gravity biased about its rocking or pivotal connection so that the rear surface of the rear wall 68 will be gravity urged towards the back wall 14. It will be observed that the rear surface of the rear wall 68 converges towards the back Wall 14 so as to provide a throat or narrowed passageway 76 therebetween through which the cool air entering the passage 58 must pass before it can reach the outlet means 42. In order to effect adjustment of this throat and thus' regulate or control the ow of air through the cooling air passage 58, there is provided an adjusting means indicated generally by the numeral 80. This adjusting means may conveniently consist of a bolt threaded through the back wall 14 and engaging or abutting against the upper portion or some other portion of the support member 64 so as to adjustably regulate movement of the support member toward or from the back wall and thus control the effective area of the throat 76.

As will be further observed from FIGURE 3 in particular, the bottom wall 66 of the support member 64 is provided with a channel or depressed portion 82 which constitutes a trough. It will be observed that the front portion of the support member 64 is open and continuously communicates with the space between the hood 38 so that any grease tending to condense out of the air passing upwardly therefrom and against the support member will accumulate in the trough 82. Since the trough can be readily removed by merely lifting the same from its engagement upon the upper section 52 of the support 50, it is obvious that the periodic accumulations of grease can be readily removed from the trough 82.

A conventional form of filter screen 84 has its lower end seated in the recess 72 and its upper end rests upon the inside surface of the ange 24 of the top wall 22. There is suiiicient clearance between the upper end of the screen and the undersurface of the top wall 22 to permit the screen to be raised slightly so that its lower end may be disengaged from the seating recess 72 whereupon the screen may be tilted forwardly at its lower end and thus withdrawn through the open front of the housing, with the hood 32 being raised for this purpose. The screen separates the space beneath the hood from the outlet means so that all air entering the outlet means must iirst be screened to assist in the removal of grease therefrom. The screen thus divides the interior of the housing into an outlet chamber 86 which is defined by the two end walls 20, the top wall 22, the back wall 14 and the screen, and an inlet chamber 88 defined by the two end walls and the hood itself together with the support 50.

It will now be observed that there is a continuous but restricted communication of the outside air through the cool air inlet passage 58, the throat 76 and into the outlet chamber 86, and from thence to the outlet means 42 of the discharge duct of the ventilator. Also, hot combustion gases from the cooking equipment burners are introduced into area 58 through gas vents behind 56 which are mixed with cool incoming air before passing through throat 76. This llow of air is adjustably controlled or throttled by regulation of the adjusting means as will be more readily apparent from an inspection of FIG- URE 5.

In the lower end of the recess 72 in the upper wall 70 of the support member 64 there are provided weep holes or drain passages 95D as will be more readily apparent from FIGURE 4. Thus, grease which is extracted from the outgoing heated air by the filter screen 84 will gravitate down the latter into the recess 72, and then be discharged from the recess through the drainage passages 90 into the trough y82 from which it may be removed as previously set forth.

The inclined top wall 34 is spaced from the top wall 22 by the spaced hinges 28 thereby forming a cooling air entrance slot 29 which admits room air as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 2.

It will be observed that by this construction the maximum amount of available space is provided at the open front of the ventilator to permit air to be drawn in from the room thus removing heated air as well as the fumes and greases arising from the operation of the range itself. At the same time, before such grease laden heated gases are discharged into the liue system they are diluted and cooled by the incoming cool air through the cool air passage 58, in the outlet chamber 86 and also by cooling air entering slot 29. It will be observed that the throat 76 produces a venturi efl'ect on this incoming cool air which tends to more thoroughly mix it in the outlet chamber 86 with the heated gases to thus further cool the same thus condensing and removing any additional grease or moisture which may remain after passage through the filters before the cooled gases are discharged to the fiue thereby substantially eliminating a very common source of ventilator fires.

By virtue of its construction, the device may be economically and attractively constructed of stainless steel, sheet metal of various characters and the like. It is so constructed that the filter 84, grease trough 82 and panel 52 may be readily removed for cleaning or replacement. Actually it is apparent that this operation can be readily effected in less than 30 seconds.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A range ventilator comprising a housing having a back wall adapted to extend vertically upwardly from and in spaced relation to the rear of a range and a top wall adapted to overlie the rear portion only of a range top and having end walls secured to the side edges of said top and back walls and defining therewith an open front canopy for a range, an outlet means in the upper portion of said housing, a hood movably secured to the front edge of said top wall and projecting forwardly and downwardly therefrom to enclose the upper portion of said open front and to overlie the front portion of a range, a vertical support extending transversely between and secured to said end walls and projecting upwardly into said housing in spaced relation to said back wall and defining with said back wall a cool air passage in the space therebetween adapted to communicate with a portion of the atmosphere behind said range, a support member detachably mounted upon said support and having a recess in an upper surface portion thereof, an upwardly and forwardly inclined filter screen seated at its lower end in said recess and having its upper end engaging a portion of said top wall and separating the space beneath said hood from said outlet means, said screen defining with said back, top and end walls, an outlet chamber directly communicating with said cool air passage and said outlet means and further defining with said end walls and hood an inlet chamber, said support member having a rear surface spaced from said back wall in such a manner as to define part of said cool air passage and an air restriction therein, and means for regulating the flow of air from said cool air passage to said outlet means by varying the size of said restriction mounted on said back wall and operatively connected to said support member.

2. The combination of claim l wherein said support member includes an integral depression in a lower surface portion thereof defining a trough for collecting grease condensate, said support member having an air entrance passage between its upper and lower surface portions in said support and is gravity fi continuous communication with the inlet chamber and the space beneath said hood.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said upper surface portion has drain openings discharging into said trough.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said support has a projection extending transversely thereof between said end walls and defining a grease drip ledge facing the range top.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said support includes upper and lower sections, said upper section having a detachable channel and rib engagement with said lower section and said support member.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said projection is provided along the lower edge of said upper section.

7. The combination of claim l wherein said support has a projection extending transversely thereof between said end walls and defining a grease drip ledge facing the range top.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said support includes upper and lower sections, said upper section having a detachable channel and rib engagement with said lower section and said support member.

9. rThe combination of claim 8 wherein said projection is provided along the lower edge of said upper section.

l0. The combination of claim l wherein said support member is pivotally mounted at its forward end upon biased towards said back wall.

11. A ventilator assembly for cooking equipment such as a range comprising a housing adapted to overlie at least a portion of a range top and communicated at its upper portion with a flue, a filter, means supporting said filter to one side of said iiue in the iiow path of grease laden fumes exiting through the housing to the iiue whereby said fumes must pass therethrough, said housing having a rear wall spaced from the filter at the other side of said flue defining an air passage behind said filter communicating with said flue, said rear wall extending in spaced relation to the range and open to the atmosphere thereby providing a cool air inlet communicating with the air passage between the filter and rear wall thereby cooling the fumes in the space behind the filter after they pass therethrough below the flash point of any grease in the fumes which may pass through the lter thereby eliminating a major cause of ventilator fires.

l2. The combination of claim ll wherein said means supporting the filter includes a trough assembly engaging the bottom of the filter, means removably and pivotally supporting the lower edge of the filter and including a grease receiving trough means thereby enabling easy removale of the filter and the supporting means for the lower edge thereof for cleaning.

13. The combination of claim 11 wherein said housing includes an air inlet slot adjacent the upper portion of the inlet side of the filter for admitting cooling air to the upper portion of the inlet side of the filter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,532,420 Pledger Dec. 5, 1950 2,535,863 Pledger Dec. 26, 1950 2,746,449 Pledger May 22, 1956 2,862,437 Smith Dec. 2, 1958 2,868,108 Petersen Ian. 13, 1959 2,888,871 Fischer June 2, 1959 

11. A VENTILATOR ASSEMBLY FOR COOKING EQUIPMENT SUCH AS A RANGE COMPRISING A HOUSING ADAPTED TO OVERLIE AT LEAST A PORTION OF A RANGE TOP AND COMMUNICATED AT ITS UPPER PORTION WITH A FLUE, A FILTER, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID FILTER TO ONE SIDE OF SAID FLUE IN THE FLOW PATH OF GREASE LADEN FUMES EXITING THROUGH THE HOUSING TO THE FLUE WHEREBY SAID FUMES MUST PASS THERETHROUGH, SAID HOUSING HAVING A REAR WALL SPACED FROM THE FILTER AT THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID FLUE DEFINING AN AIR PASSAGE BEHIND SAID FILTER COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FLUE, SAID REAR WALL EXTENDING IN SPACED RELATION TO THE RANGE AND OPEN TO THE ATMOSPHERE THEREBY PROVIDING A COOL AIR INLET COMMUNICATING WITH THE AIR PASSAGE BETWEEN THE FILTER AND REAR WALL THEREBY COOLING THE FUMES IN THE SPACE BEHIND THE FILTER AFTER THEY PASS THERETHROUGH BELOW THE FLASH POINT OF ANY GREASE IN THE FUMES WHICH MAY PASS THROUGH THE FILTER THEREBY ELIMINATING A MAJOR CAUSE OF VENTILATOR FIRES. 